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March 30, 2010

Wagstaffe Set to Retry Murder as DA

[Cynthia Foster]

District attorney-hopeful Steve Wagstaffe is ramping up to retry the accused killer of the daughter of a former Oakland Raiders receiver.

The 2001 conviction of Mohammed Haroon Ali for the murder of Tracey Biletnikoff (daughter of Fred Biletnikoff) was thrown out by the Ninth Circuit, which ruled that Wagstaffe improperly dismissed two African American jurors for "racially motivated reasons."

Wagstaffe, who is running unopposed for DA in San Mateo County, plans to retry Ali himself, denying any racism in his prosecution.

Comments

The legal community should know that Wagstaffe also oppposed the releaes on parole of a man convicted of second degree murder, for killing his wife's drug dealer, who was insinuating himself into the family. Because there was prosecutor misconduct in the case, the DA's office agreed to a second degree murder plea deal. The guy, who had only one misdemeanor conviction as a minor, was a model prisoner and was one of the rare people to get parole, but Wagstaffe tried to block it, by telling lies to the parole board. (no, it's not me saying he lied, an appeals court said he lied).
Ultimately, Wagstaffe was reneging on the deal his own office made with this guy, (you folks are lawyers and know all the differences, but isn't it fair to say main difference betweeen 1st and 2nd degree is chance of parole?) AND lying in order to do so.
That's the character of Wagstaffe.
I believe all criminal defense attorneys have an ethical duty to tell their clients that Wagstaffe is a welcher, before the clients take any plea bargain.

Another point I would make, why does the legal system allow anyone who violated the rules by keeping blacks off juries, to try anyone at all, ever again, let alone the same man for the same charge? It seems outrageous that a defendant can not get such a person off his case, literally, permanently. Certainly, someone of Wagstaffe's character is not going to toe the line the second time around, if anything, he will do whatever he can to win, to vindicate the first conviction. ("See, it did not make any difference, the appeals court was wrong")